Masque of the Titan
by Risachu
Summary: An adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" Shingeki no Kyojin style! AU-ish! Rated T just to be safe!


**Masque of the Titan **

_"Tell me, what __do__ you see? Who __do you think the real enemy is__?" – Captain Erwin_

**-x-**

The titans had long devastated the surviving remnants of humanity. Nothing of their nature had ever before existed, and nothing could rival their horror. They required no nourishment, yet possessed an unrelenting bloodlust which drove them to devour humans. To kill was not their way of life, but rather their sport. Fear of these creatures perpetually loomed over the three walls which contained the entire world's population; imprisoning them like animals in cages. Though they fought, humanity had not even one victory over the titans. That is, until the recapture of Trost.

This was accomplished by a young soldier by the name of Eren Jaeger, who had the ability to transform into a titan at will, and had used this ability to re-seal the wall which had been breached by a titan measuring more than 50 meters tall. Though this victory was a milestone in the war for humanity, not a single soldier dared celebrate. They had witnessed the deaths of far too many comrades. Victory had come with a cost.

The king of this region, however, was very much relieved with the knowledge that the titans had not progressed any further towards where he himself resided within the innermost wall of Sina. The serious blow to his troops was all but overlooked by the king and the people of Sina who saw this victory only as an excuse to celebrate. Noting his people's mounting excitement, the king quickly realized he was becoming overshadowed by his own soldiers, and this was a fact his simply could not accept. In order to regain the attentions of his people, he decided to throw a lavish party in his own castle, inviting everyone of consequence within his inner district. This celebration was to be more extravagant than anything that had ever before been seen, and the king, wanting nothing interfere, summoned the entirety of the Military Police Force and the new trainees to stand guard around his castle, and ordered the Stationary Troops of Wall Rose to relocate to Wall Sina.

The castle had been completely redecorated for the event, with each floor having a different precious stone to serve as its theme. The first was inspired by the sapphire; the curtains, carpets, decorations, and even the windows were all stained a rich royal blue. The second floor was centered around the emerald; every detail standing out in a deep striking green. The third was amethyst violet, the forth was pearl white, and the fifth was diamond silver. The sixth and final floor however, was a special case. This floor was ruby red, each decoration following suit, save the single window which was solidly black, allowing no outside light into the top level. The atmosphere of this floor was uncomfortable in a way that was almost haunting, causing many of the king's guests to avoid this final story.

Outside the walls of the castle, a bell was rung every hour by a military search party, each toll of the bell signifying another body found. Each hour, this noise would tear through the castle, causing silence to fall instantly over everyone as the eerie chime resonated within each of them. However, once the bell was silenced, the festivities would resume almost immediately, as if the bell had made no previous disturbance; as if death had not, for one moment, been within them all.

Each guest was dressed in their most formal attire, complimented with beautiful ornate masks which obscured their faces, making each guest a challenge to identify. The king's visitors found it highly amusing to not be able to recognize one another. They knew they were among friends in this room full of strangers, and made it a game to guess who was who. Few revealed their identities, and of those who did, most gave a name other than their own. To be believed to be someone entirely new was exhilarating, not to mention it made for excellent gossip. However, there was one guest in particular whose identity was causing great distress to everyone. Just after the third tolling of the bell, an unfamiliar mask was spotted on the third floor. Standing opposite the large, violet window was a woman who stood out in sharp contrast to the other guests. Her attire, rather than being formal as the king's invitations had stipulated, was instead crafted to resemble muscle, and the mask created to compliment it was a sickeningly pale red with two large, dark, unseeing eyes and a horrific, toothy smile which stretched across its length, slithering upwards through its cheeks. This was the grotesque, nearly human face of a titan. The dead plastic eyes stared emptily out the window, oblivious to their horrified audience. What human would have the gall to present herself as the very thing which drove her race to the brink of extinction; a being which poisoned each mind with paralyzing fear; a being which had absolutely no place in a celebration?

Word of this sadistic guest's transgression soon spread throughout the castle, finally reaching the ears of its host. Furious, the king interrogated the soldiers at the castle gate, demanding to know who had allowed this person to enter. However, not a single soldier could recall ever seeing such a costume, suggesting that perhaps the ill-humored guest had changed after passing through the gate. Refocusing his attentions on the one who had ruined his luxurious event, the king made his way to the third floor, quickly closing in on the revolting form bathed in the violet light of the window.

The kings voice thundered, "You there! You insolent-!"

The titan's head spun like that of an owl, the short, blonde hair which framed the mask falling slightly over its sightless eyes as they met those of the king, who was now too petrified to even complete his sentence. All eyes were on him now, watching as beads of sweat formed at his brow.

"Y-yes, you..!" he stammered, his voice quaking with fear, "Y-your impudence… will n-not be t-tolerated—!"

The aforementioned guest turned her entire body to face him, moving slowly towards his shaking form, her ghastly smile reflecting in his eyes.

Abandoning all pretense of bravery, the king fell back towards the crowd standing on the outskirts of the scene, all of whom seemed to be frozen in time, eyes wide with terror. The panicked king attempted to part the mass of guests blocking the staircase which led downstairs, but before he could make it even half way through, the demonic figure had already nearly closed in on him. Turning in the opposite direction, he raced up to the fourth floor, not daring to stop until he found himself facing the onyx window of the sixth floor. He slammed his fists against the cold glass, tearing spilling down his face. He could hear the heavy footsteps thundering slowly up the stairs.

"Please… I don't want to die…" he choked, pressing his sweat-drenched forehead against the onyx frame which separated him from the outside world. The footsteps stopped at the top of the stairs. The heavy doors which kept the stairwell open slammed together, and all was silent, save the tolling of the bell outside the castle's walls.

As the sun rose from behind Wall Sina the next morning, the soldiers outside began to grow restless. The party was meant to have ended hours ago, and those standing guard at the gate could no longer contain their curiosity as to why not a single guest had made their exit. The gate was slowly pulled open, releasing a sharp hissing noise as massive amounts of steam poured through the open gate, singeing the skin of the soldiers standing within close proximity. The squad of new recruits hurried in the direction of the noise, slowing their pace at the sight of the veteran soldiers looking in through the veil of steam with expressions of utter bewilderment. The castle stood silent, containing only a mass of bones accompanied by an odd looking mask lying in front of the grand staircase.

* * *

_So I wanted to write something for Halloween and somehow… this happened._

_..Honestly I'm not really sure why I decided Poe and Shingeki no Kyojin go together ^^;_

_But anyways, thanks for reading and happy Halloween!_


End file.
